Printable Recipe: Classic Green Bean Casserole, Hold the Soup

Classic Green Bean Casserole, Hold the Soup

This recipe comes from Alton Brown, who seems to have made it his life's mission to find better ways to cook things we eat all the time. Like green bean casserole, one of the most common Thanksgiving side dishes there is. This version is made without canned soup, canned beans or, canned, well... anything. It's rich and flavorful, and will please both green bean casserole haters and green bean casserole lovers. It's that kind of recipe.

You can make this a make-ahead Thanksgiving side dish by assembling all the way up to step 11. Cover and pop it in the fridge, then return to room temperature before adding topping and baking as directed, baking 20-25 minutes instead of 15. The onion topping can be prepared a couple days in advance. Just put it in an airtight container until ready to use.

This Thanksgiving side dish recipe only serves 6, so you may want to double it. And if you want to make this truly impressive, use a mix of wild mushrooms.

Ingredients:

Onion Topping:
2 med. sweet onions, sliced thin
1/4 C. flour
2 tbsp. Japanese bread crumbs (panko)
1 tsp. kosher salt

Casserole:
1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 lb. fresh green beans
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
12 oz. crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 lg. cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 tbsp. flour
1 C. chicken broth
1 C. half & half

Instructions: 1. First, prepare the topping. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. In a large resealable bag, combine onion slices, flour, bread crumbs, and salt. Shake to combine.

2. Spread onions out on a well-greased baking sheet. Bake until brown, about 30 minutes. Stir a few times while cooking. Set onions aside until needed, or allow to cool completely and seal in an airtight container until needed.

3. Next, prepare the casserole. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and trim your green beans and cut into halves.

4. Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Blanch green beans for 5 minutes.

5. Drain beans and run cold water over to stop cooking.

6. In a large skillet, melt butter. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Cook over med-high heat until mushrooms are mostly tender, about 5 minutes.

7. Stir in garlic and nutmeg. Cook until fragrant, 1-2 mins more.

8. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture. Stir until well mixed. Cook 1 minute.

9. Stir in chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Simmer about one minute. Add half & half and reduce heat to med-low.

10. When mixture comes to a simmer and thickens, remove from heat. Add blanched, drained beans and about 1/4 of your onion topping. Stir to combine.

11. Pour into a casserole dish.

12. Top with rest of onion topping. Bake about 15 minutes, until hot and bubbling.